1968

1968

Around the girdled earth they roam. In March our western ski trip, version 18.0, this year was at Big Sky in Montana. Twenty-three classmates and friends joined in the fun, including Nancy and Dave Dibelius; Julia and Larry Griffith, plus Larry’s sister, Joanne Chambers; Bev and Jim Lawrie; Susan and Hap Ridgeway; Cindy and Dave Stanley; Tom Stonecipher and friend Lisa Albert; Paul Fitzgerald and friend Bob Wagner; John Manaras ’67 and brother Steve Manaras and his wife, Lindsey; Peter Fahey; Rick Pabst, Peter Emmel, Scott Reeves, and Steve Schwager. The group had three powder days, home-cooked meals (except one meal out) and a road trip to Yellowstone Park. The Horse’s Ass award this year went to Rick Pabst for his style. April saw the Danube/ Budapest trip version 1.0, organized by Bill Rich and his fiancée, Sylvia Hahn-Griffiths. A total of 18 people spent a week on a river cruise on the

Danube, from Passau, Germany, Linz, Melk and Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia and four days inBudapest, Hungary. Besides Bill and Sylvia, the group included Diane and David Peck, Helen and Peter Fahey, Cathy and Warren Cooke, Trish and Peter Baylor, Ann and Steve Mason, Betty and Mike Lenahan, Sandy and Larry Smith, and Janet and Bob Woodburn, friends of Bill. The first week was on a Viking cruise ship, with the usual great food and staff, with knowledgeable local guides at our stops. The Budapest portion was led by Sylvia (a Hungarian-American) and a friend of hers who is the author of a detailed local guidebook. We hope there will be a version 2.0 in the future! May was the final (version 4.0) Virgin Islands cruise, as commodore Gerry Hills and wife Martha will be heading to Hawaii as their new home later this year. Gerry reports the flotilla had four boats and 26 sailors. Oldest sailor is 82; the youngest, 28. Jack Hopke provided the music CDs, but missed this cruise as he was off in Paris. The only other ’68 along was Bill Rich and fiancée Sylvia (they certainly are travelers!).

Future mini-reunions already on the books (and should be in your calendars) are the class 70th birthday in California this coming September, eastern skiing (Okemo, Vermont) in January 2017, the big western skiing (JacksonHole, Wyoming) in March 2017 and the Grand Canyon walk-in and walk-out (a.k.a. the “Big Stairmaster”) in April 2017. Facebook notes: Greg Marshall has written his fourth play, The Witches of Wenham, a play about Alzheimer’s and its effect on a family. Greg reported that Steve Calvert is also writing plays, with his most recent titled The Florist.

We now have two online surveys. The links: https://surveymonkey.eom/r/2N2HH6H and https://surveymonkey.eom/r/DMKLMLB. Responses are light so far, but please give them a try. Results could be fun to ponder and suggestions for our 50th reunion will be helpful. Plus, keep the news coming in every way possible.

David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com